EEE121

CIRCUIT THEORY 1
Chapter 4
CAPACITORS AND
INDUCTORS
LESSON OUTCOMES
• At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• Describe the construction and function of capacitor and inductor.

• Explain the Current-Voltage relationship of capacitor and inductor.
• Determine the equivalent capacitance and inductance for a group of
capacitors and inductors.
• Describe and determine the power and energy for capacitor and inductor.
 CONTENTS – Chapter 4

1. INTRODUCTION
2. CAPACITORS
3. ENERGYINCAPACITORS
4. SERIESAND PARALLELCAPACITORS
5. INDUCTORS
6. ENERGYININDUCTORS
7. SERIESAND PARALLELINDUCTORS
8. CURRENT-VOLTAGE RELATIONSHIP FOR R, L,C
 1.INTRODUCTION
This chapter introduce two important passive linear circuit
elements: the capacitor and the inductor.

Unlike resistors, which dissipate energy, capacitors and

inductors do not dissipate but store energy.

For this reason, capacitors and inductors are called storage

elements.
 2.CAPACITORS
A capacitor is a passive element designed to store energy inits
electric field.

Figure: Acapacitorwith
Figure: Atypicalcapacitor
applied voltage, v

• A capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulator (or

dielectric).
 2.CAPACITORS
Capacitance Cis the ratio of the charge, q on one plate of a capacitor to the
voltage difference, vbetween the two plates, measured in farads (F).

q  Cv and C
 A
d

Where:
•  is the permittivity of the dielectric material between the plates.
• Ais the surface area of each plate.
• d is the distance between the plates.
• Unit: F, pF (10–12), nF (10–9), and F (10–6)
 2.CAPACITORS
If i is flowing into the +ve terminal of C
Charging i is +ve
Discharging i is –ve

• The current-voltage relationship of capacitor accordingto

above convention is :

dv 1
iC

t
and v i d t  v(t 0 )
dt C t0
 2.CAPACITORS

Example 1

The current through a 100-F capacitor is

i(t) = 50 sin(120 t) mA.

Calculate the voltage across it at t =1 ms and t = 5 ms.Take v(0) =0.

Answer:
v(1ms) = 93.14mV
v(5ms) = 1.7361V
 2.CAPACITORS
Example 2

An initially uncharged 1-mF capacitor has the current shown below across
it. Calculate the voltage across it at t = 2 ms and t = 5ms.

Answer:
v(2ms) = 100 mV
v(5ms) = 500 mV
 3. ENERGY INCAPACITORS

The energy, w, stored in the capacitor is:

1
w  Cv2
2
The unit is Joule [J]

• Acapacitor is
– an open circuit to dc (dv/dt = 0).
– its voltage cannot change abruptly.
 3. ENERGY INCAPACITORS

Example 3

What is the voltage across a 3-μF capacitor if the charge

on one plate is 0.12 mC. How much energy is stored?

Answer:
v = 40V
w = 2.4 mJ
 4. SERIES ANDPARALLEL
CAPACITORS
The equivalent capacitance of N series-connected capacitors is the
reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual capacitances.

1  1  1  ... 1
Ceq C1 C2 CN
 4. SERIES ANDPARALLEL
CAPACITORS
The equivalent capacitance of N parallel-connected capacitors is
the sum of the individual capacitances.

C eq  C1  C 2  ...  C N
 4. SERIES ANDPARALLEL
CAPACITORS
Example 4
Find the equivalent capacitance seen at the terminals of the circuit in the
circuit shown below:

Answer: Ceq = 40F

 4. SERIES ANDPARALLEL
CAPACITORS
Example 5
Find the voltage across each of the capacitors in the circuit shown
below:

Answer: v1 = 30V, v2 = 30V, v3 = 10V, v4 = 20V

 5.INDUCTORS

An inductor is a passive element designed to store energy in its

magnetic field.

Figure:Typical form of an inductor

• An inductor consists of a coil of conductingwire.

 5.INDUCTORS
Inductance is the property whereby an inductor exhibits opposition to
the change of current flowing through it, measured in henrys (H).

vL
di N 2 A
where L
dt l

Where N = number of turns

L= length of thecoil
A= cross-sectionalarea
μ = permeability of the core

• The unit of inductors is Henry (H), mH (10–3) and H (10–6).

 5.INDUCTORS

The current-voltage relationship of an inductor:

1 t
i   v(t) d t  i(t0 )
L t0
and

di
vL
dt

• An inductor acts like a short circuit to dc (di/dt = 0) and its current

cannot change abruptly.
 6. ENERGY ININDUCTORS

• The power stored by an inductor is:

1 2
w Li
2
 6. ENERGY INCAPACITORS
Example 6

The terminal voltage of a 2-H inductor is

v = 10(1 - t) V

Find the current flowing through it at t = 4 s andthe

energy stored in it within t = s.

Assume i(0) = 2A.

Answer: i(4s) = -18V, w(4s) = 320J

 6. ENERGY INCAPACITORS
Example 7

Determine vc, iL, and the energy stored in the capacitor and inductor in
the circuit of circuit shown below under dc conditions.

Answer: iL = 3A, vC = 3V, wL = 1.125J, wC = 9J

 7.SERIES ANDPARALLEL INDUCTORS
The equivalent inductance of series-connected inductors isthe
sum of the individual inductances.

Leq  L1  L2  ...  LN
 7.SERIES ANDPARALLEL INDUCTORS
The equivalent capacitance of parallel inductors is the reciprocal of the sum of
the reciprocals of the individual inductances.

1  1  1  ... 1
Leq L1 L2 LN
 7.SERIES ANDPARALLEL INDUCTORS
Example 8
Calculate the equivalent inductance for the inductive ladder network in
the circuit shown below:

Answer: Leq = 25mH

 8. CURRENT ANDVOLTAGE
RELATIONSHIP FOR R, L,C